There's a new network organizing the incubators, accelerators, and investors fostering innovation in the Pacific Northwest on both sides of the U.S. - Canada border.

Business collaboration across the 49th parallel is having a moment, thanks in no small part to a dramatic divergence in immigration policies between the two countries this year that have prompted U.S. tech companies to establish or grow their presence in Canada to access talent from around the world.

The Cascadia Venture Acceleration Network (CVAN) is focused on collaboration at the grass-roots level of the innovation economy -- specifically the cleantech, life sciences, and IT industries -- in the broad area known as Cascadia, encompassing Washington, Oregon, and British Columbia, Canada.